Home Cinderella of the USSR was born 110 years ago: bright roles and personal life of Yanina Zheimo

Family

• First husband - Andrei Kostrichkin, actor. Divorced in 1932.[2] Daughter of Yanin Kostrichkina, works on dubbing films.

Grandsons Yanina, Peter and Pavel.

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At the age of fifteen, in parallel with her work on the stage, Yanina entered the FESK acting studio in Leningrad under the direction of G. Kozintsev and L. Trauberg.

In 1925, Zheimo made his film debut. She played the role of a newsboy in the film “Bears against Yudenich.” The circus and stage gradually became a thing of the past. The very next year, Yanina starred in several films at once, among which the most striking was the main role in the eccentric comedy “Brother.” She also participated in the filming of the films “The Overcoat”, “S.V.D.”, “New Babylon”, etc.

In 1929, Yanina graduated from the FEKS film workshop, and a year later from the Institute of Performing Arts, and became an actress at the Lenfilm film studio. The 1930s became the most fruitful and successful in the work of the actress. She was actively invited to act.

In the lyrical drama “Song of Happiness” she played one of the main roles. Her first major role was in the film “Wake Up Lenochka”, where she played a schoolgirl, and in the film “Hot Days” she created a brilliant comedic couple with N. Cherkasov. Yanina’s artistic individuality was most fully expressed in the film “Girlfriends” (1935).

Any role of Zheimo - main or episodic, dramatic or romantic - was distinguished in her performance by a variety of colors and shades, combining lyricism, characterization and eccentricity. In 1939, Zheimo was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.

Not only talent and skill, but also special external characteristics - small stature, an almost childish face and a fragile physique - became the source of the actress’s artistic originality. All this determined her role - all her life she played teenage girls.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Ioannina remained in Leningrad, where she had to survive the blockade. As part of one of the Lenfilm concert teams, Yanina performed in hospitals and parks, and at night she was on duty on the roof, extinguishing lighters. Only at the end of 1942 Ioannina was evacuated to Tashkent - film production also moved there. During these years, she starred in the films “Belarusian Novels”, “Two Fighters” and others.

The actress became widely famous for her leading role in the fairy tale film “Cinderella” in 1947. Zheimo was 37 years old at the time. The film was a huge success. But the premiere of “Cinderella” coincided with the beginning of a lack of films in domestic cinema.

The Zheimo family decided to move to Moscow, where Yanina participated in dubbing foreign films and domestic cartoons. Her unique voice was used by Sophia Loren, Juliet Masina and the cartoon Gerda from The Snow Queen. The actress played her last role in the film “Two Friends” (1954).

In 1957, with her husband, Polish director L. Zhano, Yanina left for Poland, Warsaw. She did not act there, although she received offers from directors several times, but for various reasons they were not accepted. But Yanina often accompanied her husband on set and sometimes gave him practical advice.

She kept in touch with Russian actors - Mikhail Pugovkin, Vyacheslav Tikhonov and others - they came to visit her. Zheimo herself often visited the Soviet Union. But Yanina lived her last 30 years of life in Poland.

Yanina Boleslavovna Zheimo died on December 29, 1987, she was buried in Moscow at the Vostryakovsky cemetery.

Source: calend.ru

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Yanina Boleslavovna Zhejmo (Polish: Janina Żejmo; May 16 [29], 1909, Volkovysk - December 29, 1987, Warsaw) - Soviet film actress of Polish origin.

Played the girl at 38

“ Yanina Zheimo was a great actress of Soviet cinema,” says publicist Vitaly Vulf . - Tiny stature, with huge eyes, divine plasticity, a gentle voice. She was compared to the Italian Giulietta Masina . Zheimo's main film was shot in 1947 - “Cinderella” by Nadezhda Kosheverova . This is a great film not only because Erast Garin, Faina Ranevskaya, Elena Yunger .
The viewer believed in the purity of Zheimo’s thoughts and kind look. No one could have guessed that the actress in real life is almost 40 years old. Lenfilm costume designers made crystal slippers of size 31 to order. It was truly a piece of jewelry. True, Zheimo did not walk or dance in them. It was impossible to take even a couple of steps in them. The prop masters only allowed me to try on the plexiglass shoes, walk into the frame wearing them, and immediately take them off. Scenes with Cinderella were filmed mainly in the evenings - Zheimo was older than both “sisters” and asked the director not to put her in the frame in the morning: “her face is not like that in the morning.” "Cinderella". 1947

During the war years, the scenery at Lenfilm was bombed or burned. Therefore, everything had to be done again. To film the ball in the palace, members of the film crew brought antiques from their home that survived the siege and did not use for kindling and heating of apartments. The chairs were actually trophy ones, brought from Germany... Dresses for the ladies-in-waiting and courtiers of the royal retinue were made from curtains. Today “Cinderella” is already a cinema classic. And then, in the late 40s... The film “Cinderella” was assessed by officials of the Ministry of Cinematography as weak and harmful. The newspaper Pravda, the organ of the CPSU Central Committee, published an article that directly stated: “Cinderella is a big ideological mistake.” The film “My Motherland” with the participation of Zheimo did not fit into the ideological framework either: she, a Komsomol member, strengthens friendship between peoples. The dispute about this film reached Stalin. Koba looked and made a harsh verdict: “The picture is harmful.” Need I say that after such an assessment, “Motherland” was removed from distribution? The same fate befell other films with the participation of Yanina Zheimo... “In her youth, Yanina Zheimo graduated from the studio “Factory of Eccentric Film Actor.” Yanina Zheimo’s first husband was actor Andrei Kostrichkin . (The marriage produced a daughter, Yanina.) Once upon a time, he also made a splash as a performer of eccentric roles. Kostrichkin starred in “New Babylon”, and Zheimo played Teresa the circus performer there. This role was close to her - from the age of 3 the actress performed in the arena with musical numbers, was a gymnast, ballerina, equestrian...

Yanina Zheimo in the film "Cinderella". 1947

Biography

Born in the city of Volkovysk (now Grodno region, Belarus) in a family of circus performers. Her father Josef Boleslav Žeimo (died 1923[2]) was Polish, her mother was Russian. From the age of three she performed in the circus - as a rider, gymnast, ballerina and musical eccentric. In 1925-1927 she worked on the stage.

She has acted in films since 1925. Graduated from the FEKS workshop in Leningrad (1929).

Actress of the Lenfilm film studio. The films “Wake up Helen” (1934), “Girlfriends” (1935) and “Enemies” (1938) brought popularity. In 1939 she received the Order of the Badge of Honor.

During the Great Patriotic War she was in besieged Leningrad.

From 1949 to 1956 - actress of the Film Actor's Studio Theater.

In 1957, with her third husband, Polish director Leonid Zhano, she left for Poland.

Since 1957, she lived mainly in Warsaw and often visited the Soviet Union. In the 1980s she moved to Moscow, lived on Leskova Street, building 21.

She died on December 29, 1987 in Warsaw; the coffin with her body was brought to Moscow.

Yanina Boleslavovna was buried, according to her will, at the Vostryakovsky cemetery (site 98).

Andrey

Wake up Helen (1934)

While the actress was looking at her image and chastising herself for being non-telegenic, actor Andrei Kostrichkin approached her. Having learned what the beauty was sad about, he just laughed. I whispered with the lighting people, asked the operators to repeat the take, and the new test turned out to be much more successful: Yanina began to recognize herself.

And with the savior, who then guessed to change the light in the studio, she went on a date, which turned into a romantic story and culminated in marriage. I can’t call him happy—the lovers weren’t together for long. But during the short period of marriage, little Yanina was born - the common daughter of Zheimo and Kostrichkin, named after her mother.

Later she would become a very well-known employee of Mosfilm in the professional circle. Yanina Kostrichkina worked in dubbing for many years and was one of the first specialists in the USSR to master simultaneous translation of foreign films.

Creation

The actress became widely famous for her role as Cinderella in the post-war film of the same name by N. N. Kosheverova.

The actress had a fragile girlish physique, her height was less than 148 cm, her foot size was 31. Until the age of 40, Yanina looked like a young girl. This defined her role as a travesty:

“My appearance—facial structure, small stature—determined my role: all my life I’ve played teenage girls. It was a success, very big... When I played Cinderella, I was 37 years old, and the heroine was the same age as my daughter.

— Yanina Zheimo. From an interview.

The bench on which miniature Yanina stood in the radio studio in order to reach the microphone was called the “zhamovochka.”

Nikolai Oleinikov wrote a comic poem in 1934:

From New York to Klin

There's a stigma on everyone's lips

Called Ioannina

Boleslavovna Zheimo.

Star

Girlfriends (1935)

Only several decades later and after Zheimo’s stellar roles, critics began to note the amazing dramatic gift of the actress, who subtly combined the features of a lyricist and an eccentric. But then little Yanina was offered mainly the roles of children - boys and girls.

In her third year, she became one of the most sought-after actresses and was involved in several projects at once, which was an incredible success for that time. She was called a “film actress of pure blood.”

Recognition came to her after the main role in the film “Girlfriends,” filmed in 1935. The actress was not given a pass. Many believed that in front of them was a child, and very young boys and girls who also dreamed of becoming actors began to come straight to Yanina’s home.

All the more tragic was her break with cinema, when in the late 30s she found herself unclaimed. Friends wrote: when she doesn’t play, she becomes withdrawn and angry.

During the stagnation in cinema, many actors find salvation in the theater, but she was far from the stage and how she survived in those years when she was not invited to act is still unknown.

Family

• First husband - Andrei Kostrichkin (1901-1973), actor. Divorced in 1932. Daughter of Yanin Kostrichkina, works on dubbing films. Granddaughter of Yanina Kostrichkina. Great-granddaughter of Yanina Kostrichkina, musician, great-grandsons Alexander and Alexey Kostrichkina, voice and dubbing actors.

New life

Song of Happiness (1934)

Only at the end of 1942 was it finally evacuated. Kheifetz knew about this and was looking forward to his wife, but he only waited for the funeral: a notification came to his address that the train in which his wife was traveling had come under attack from the air. No one survived.

Meanwhile, the train finally arrived. Returning unharmed, Zheimo found her husband in the arms of another woman and did not forgive. From resentment, months of malnutrition in the besieged city, and a difficult move, Ioannina became mortally ill.

The celebrity was found in a dying state by Polish director Leonid Zhanno, her old and reliable friend. It was he who came out to the actress who had already said goodbye to life, confessed his love and proposed to her. She agreed.

After the war, returning from evacuation, Zheimo did not lose her optimism and even joked: “Hitler did one good deed - I lost weight.” Indeed, prettier, more fragile and still beautiful, Yanina was invited to audition for the fairy tale. A tired country thirsted for magic, and at least art was obliged to answer this need.

Filmography

Yanina Zheimo (Cinderella) and Erast Garin (king) were even on the envelope of the Russian Post in 2009

• 1925 - Bears against Yudenich - boy (episode)
• 1926 - Ferris Wheel - a girl from the punks
• 1926 - Overcoat - tailor's assistant
• 1926 - Brother - girl from the garage
• 1927 - S.V.D. - circus rider
• 1927 - Someone else's jacket - Gulka
• 1929 - Blue Express - Chinese girl[5]
• 1929 - New Babylon - Teresa
• 1929 - The Road to the World - the heroine in childhood
• 1930 - 22 misfortunes - Manka
• 1931 - Alone - Little Teacher
• 1931 - Man from prison - dishwasher
• 1932 - Looking for patronage - student
• 1933 - My Motherland - Olya
• 1934 - Song of Happiness - Anouk
• 1934 - Wake up Helen - Helen
• 1935 - Hot days - Kika
• 1935 - Girlfriends - Asya
• 1936 - Helen and the grapes - Helen
• 1938 - Enemies - Nadya
• 1939 - A soldier was walking from the front - Froska
• 1939 - Doctor Kalyuzhny - Olga
• 1941 - The Adventures of Korzinkina - Korzinkina, ticket cashier at the station
• 1942 - Action film collection No. 12 - Tanka (second story - “Vanka”)
• 1942 - Belarusian short stories (first short story - “Bee”) - Bee
• 1943 - Two soldiers - a nurse
• 1943 - March-April - Katya Veselova
• 1943 - We are from the Urals - Vera
• 1943 - Young Fritz - Gertrude, a girl caught in the Gestapo
• 1947 - Cinderella - Cinderella
• 1954 - Two friends - Kostya Shishkin’s mother

Voice acting

• 1957 - The Snow Queen - Gerda

Dubbing of foreign films[edit | edit code]

• 1948 - At the walls of Malapaga
• 1952 - Rome, 11 o'clock
• 1953 - Juliette
• 1954 - Dad, Mom, the Maid and Me - Catherine Lizeray (Nicole Courcelles)
• 1966 - Long Walk - Hotel Hostess